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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ball · field · bound · kick · march · chip · degree · mug

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. mug — a face
  3. field — farmland
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a great time
  6. mug — to rob
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. degree — an amount
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — a subject
  13. chip — for betting
  14. march — the month
  15. ball — a dance
  16. kick — in football
  17. march — the month
  18. mug — a cup
  19. march — music
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bound — obliged
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bound — tied together
  24. degree — from a university

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com